Audience Feedback

A letter to the editor of the Press Enterprise, October 16, 2009:

I took some of my students to see a performance of The Playboy of the Western World at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble last Friday, October 9.  Playboy is considered one of the greatest Irish plays ever written, yet it is not often performed in this country today.

I am so grateful to BTE for mounting this rare and challenging play.  My students and I were absolutely delighted by the very funny and deeply human portrayels of the simple Irish villagers that populate the play.

The entire cast created a vivid world that sparked my imagination and touched my heart.  Bloomsburg is so lucky to have this wonderful professional company.  I applaud BTE for its excellent production of this charming play!

DR. N.J. Stanley
Theatre Department
Lycoming College
Williamsport

From 30 Seconds in the Press Enterprise, October 7, 2009:

After reading the P-E review, a group of friends, my wife and I were apprehensive of attending the BTE performance of The Playboy of the Western World. However, the whole performance, including lighting, set, acting, and direction turned out to be outstanding, worthy of this great Irish play. A must see! Some of us are going for a second time. — Ned Coates, Cogan Station

How unfair of a critic to publish a negative review of a play before it even opens! I refer specifically to BTE’s The Playboy of the Western World. Whatever changes that were necessary were made by opening night, when they presented the polished, finished product. My husband and I brought a group of 16 people from the Williamsport area just to see this play, which is a favorite of ours, and everyone one [sic] of us loved it. To judge a performance before opening night is unfair…both to BTE, and to those people who may have missed a wonderful show because they were “scared away” by a premature review!– Gayle Peters-Coates, Cogan Station

A letter to the editor of the Press Enterprise, October 7, 2009:

Playboy review ‘highly inaccurate’

The night before the fair started, I attended BTE’s The Playboy of the Western World. I had heard from several friends that the Press Enterprise review was way off the mark. So I deviated from my normal practice and read the review in advance. I have to say, I saw something completely different from what the review described.

I was drawn to the play, solely on the premise- an unremarkable traveler enters a pub in a small Irish town and is immediately transformed by the villagers into a legend. The play is populated by colorful “characters,” who repeatedly barge into scenes and features an increasingly embellished story that we hope will not be found out. By the second act, the comedy builds to an uproarious level, with a big pay off for the audience. But as is often the way with Irish literature, even the silliest stories touch on a deeper sadness.

That’s the play, but how was BTE’s production? It was trademark BTE- an evenly and well performed ensemble piece that showcased all but two ensemble members, as well as several guest actors.

Every aspect of the production- the cozy set, which also offers a view of the action outdoors, the rustic costumes, the Celtic music and the characters’ Irish brogues- convincingly transported the audience to rural, turn of the century Ireland. The dialect required some initial attention, but once you get into the groove, it is perfectly understandable. The audience I observed was with the play throughout.

Now, as to the review, I don’t question its validity in relation to the performance seen, but rather the fact that this performance was a preview- an unfinished version of the production, not necessarily indicative of the play’s quality once it opens. A preview is a dress rehearsal with an audience. As such, the set and costumes may or may not be complete. Aspects of the performances may be tweaked or more drastically changed as a result of the response they receive. There is no other way to gauge how a production will actually affect an audience. Consequently, most theatre companies have preview performances as the last stage in the process of preparing a production for the public.

Preview audiences are aware that they are paying a reduced rate for an unfinished product, but that they are also playing a critical role in the development of the production.

In the case of Playboy, the preview allowed BTE to test the very realistic dialect to see if a local audience would understand it. What the reviewer saw was nothing more than the normal process of preparing a play for prime time. This should never have escalated into anything more.

It is unfortunate that the review’s central point was destined to be irrelevant by the next day. This made for a highly inaccurate review based on the shaky ground of a work in progress. I urge the Press Enterprise to, instead, review opening night performances, when productions are in their final form and thus representative of what audiences can truly expect throughout the run.

In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for BTE about 20 years ago; however, I have never written to counter a review. I generally recommend plays I think a given person will like, and I feel Playboy has universal appeal, regardless of your experience level with theatre. This production, in particular, will transport you to another place, time, and culture for an authentic, highly entertaining Irish tale. This week is the last of the run*, and it would be a shame if anyone missed out. It’s definitely worth seeing.

Terry Jacques
Bloomsburg

A letter to the editor of the Press Enterprise, October 1, 2009:

Dear Mr Editor,

Ben Timberlake mentioned in his review September 18 that BTE would need to make improvements to the dialogue of The Playboy of the Western World before we could enjoy it.  BTE has done so, and on September 25 provided me with a most enjoyable production.

We see Christy Mahon, the title character, (played by Richard Cannaday) transformed from a bashful farm boy into the hero the villagers of County Mayo wish him to be.  Telling them he has killed his da(d), a man they know only as a brutish stranger, Christy is soon revered as the Playboy of the Western World.

We are reminded of how large the world was only a century ago without our means of travel and communication.  For the folk in County Mayo, Ireland was their world.  Yet, for all our knowledge of the world and the way we live today, have people’s behavior changed so much?

BTE brings Synge’s play to life in a lively manner.  Cannaday and co-star, Cassandra Pisieczko, gave great performances.  The rest of the cast was superb as well and the production was well received.

Bill Frost, Espy